Mortomley's Estate, Vol. III (of 3)

St. Vedast Wharf and the two men whose fortunes were, to a certain extent, a

sfactory, or checked securities so stamped with the impress of solvency,-never had the thanks of every one been so due to any body of directors as on that special occasion, and never had any manager, secretary, and the oth

public. But these things are done,-they were yesterday, they have been to-day, they will be to-morrow; and if you live so long, my dear reader, you will hear more about yesterday's doi

ays keep a little in advance of our safemakers. The gentlemen of a hundred schemes complacently fleece their victims, and Parliam

h the wool. Always lagging behind the wit of the culprit comes the wit of the law. It is only the poor wr

here you can pick no more pockets," which indeed the hardened ruffian-stripping off all the false clothing philanthropists love to deck him with-deserves most thoroughly. But, then, what abo

wenty per cent. One is growing particularly tired of that countryman, so familiar to Londoners, who loses his money because two total strangers ask if he has faith enough to trust one or the other with a ten-pound-note, and it is difficult to help feeling t

rds bores. A man begins by pitying a dupe and ends by hating him; and the reason is that a dup

d, and a very small proportion of the old might, it is true, have faith in the concern, but as a rule the directors and the shareholders, the accountants and the officials, knew the whole a

edit. Meanwhile his unpaid acceptances were still skilfully manipulated as securities, thus:-On one side the books, that everything might be done strictly and in order, appeared the entry, "Bills returned, so much, interest thereon,

in paper instead of hard cash, the amount required was paid out of capital-"loaned out of capital," as Mr. Forde cleverly defined the transaction; and next day the s

any was mentioned, even City folks would have had but a very vague idea of the struggle St. Vedast Wharf had to maintain in order to keep itself above water. Poor Mr. Forde knew most about that struggle, and so did those unfortunates who were desperately holding on by the piles of the rotten struct

e business was at all prepared. All in a hurry Mr. Swanland summoned a meeting of the Committee, and informed them that as he could no longer carry on the works with a reasonable hope of

the members of the Committee, all of whom had long ago become perfectly sick of Mortomley

us then?" asked the man who had put s

l we see what the stock

ted Mr. Forde; hearing which the opposition colour maker laughed, and said, "No doubt they would," and Mr. Swanland declared the whole statement about profit and so forth had been an imp

large apparently; but when those goods came to be returned on hand with freight and do

be supposed other than perfect, his experience was generally accepted as correct. When he said Mo

was some sort of game, at which any man in his senses woul

is safer, perhaps, to imply the latter, because in that case the trustee obtains credit for kindliness of feelin

cept his own and his wife's wearing apparel, to Mr. Swanland, acting for

d with either Mortomley or his trustee, and that Mortomley, who had on

ere dissatisfied can easily be understood, when it is stated that as we

rning a dividend, they asked "when?" but afterwards they began to ask "what

solvent, or when a company was limited, and the shares had not been so fully paid up but that the promoters, and the advert

's clear of meat as a picked bone. For this pleasing comparison

y," said a clerk jubilantly, "bu

ired from that profession which he so much adorned, he was pleased doubtles

here can be no question but that Mr. Swanland regarded, and perhaps reasonably, the insane struggles of victims, who felt the hooks of liquidation troublesome, as Calcraft migh

his innings out of Mortomley's estate, Mr. Swanland felt d

tor, namely, as natural enemies. He hated a debtor because the debtor's creditors gave him trouble, and he hated creditors because they gave him trouble; theref

them equally, when each had served his purpose, and he wished to throw both aside. The trustee's reason for feeling disgusted with Mortomley's estate was

He had lost profit. He had felt so certain of himself and the employèes, and the works and the customers; he had entertained so genuine a contempt for Mortomley's intellect; such a profound distrust

ry hallucination at one time held him in thrall, for after he had pocketed considerable sums

ith a view of pursuing the amusement of colour-making in his harmless moments. Be this as it may, he really had felt very proud of his succes

alisbury House the order for Mortomley's New Blue which Dolly mention

p," he said to the opposition colour-maker; "poor Mortomley never had any transactions w

d longed to do battle for his order when he heard a man, whom amongst his intimate friends he concisely referred to as "that fool

rning out Brunswick Greens, Prussian Blues, Chrome Reds, and Spanish Br

wood. "At the same time, it may be well for you to be cautious about that New Blue; Mortomley ne

nd, "nothing can go wrong-n

rested in Mortomley's Estate who had sufficient knowledge of the trade to appreciate Mr. Swanland's humorous thoughts o

s. To Salisbury House there came an awful experience in the shape of one of the partners in the large f

ample of the "Blue" Mr. Swanland had forwarded to them; no manager or clerk could, they knew, be trusted to utter their sentiments in the matter, and accordingly Mr. Miller hims

he had been in business had so utterly disg

lustered,-in vain Mr. Asherill entreated Mr. Miller

t on the table, "is the blue we or

see no difference between t

g a colour-works even for a month, and mean to say you are unaware that Mortomley's Blue is the very best blue

of colours; I am an accountant,"

in the City and hatched by a parcel of old women in the House of Commons. Heaven help Mortomley if he has put his affairs into such hands as yours say I. That stuff," and he contemptuously indicated Mr. Hankins' blue, "is on its way back,

not pay," Mr. Swanland was beginning,

ks till the charges amount to treble their original value, and still whistle for your money. All I trust is this may prov

land's name. A black cross quite undeserved as regarded the matter of the blue. In his soul Mr. Swanland did believe the order had been executed as given; he had trusted to the

emarked in a Commination-service sort of tone, "I advised you to have nothi

e in a make-believe convivial fashion he had been conv

ed Mr. Asherill all in ital

t his ears must

p unless you could find something pleasanter to sa

whist, nevertheless he at that moment marked "one